Donovan Jackson Leading Vikings’ LG Battle
Vikings first-round pick Donovan Jackson “has the inside track to emerge from training camp” as the team’s starting left guard, according to ESPN’s Kevin Seifert.
Jackson, the No. 24 selection in April’s draft, made his first 31 college starts at left guard before moving to left tackle to replace injured then-Ohio State teammate Josh Simmons. Jackson performed admirably on the blind side, leading to some pre-draft chatter about his potential as a guard/tackle hybrid.
But with Christian Darrisaw firmly entrenched as the Vikings’ long-term left tackle, Jackson will play left guard in Minnesota. He took the majority of first-team reps during spring practices, per Seifert, though that is partially because starting right guard Will Fries is still sidelined by last season’s broken leg. Blake Brandel, who played every snap at left guard for the Vikings last year, has been working in Fries’ spot, but he will likely still compete with Jackson in training camp once Fries is back on the field.
Brendel struggled in 2024 with 46 quarterback pressures allowed, the second-most among starting guards, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required). That gives Jackson a clear opening to seize the starting job by demonstrating better pass protection during the preseason.
The Vikings turned over their offensive line depth this offseason, so there are no other obvious candidates to push Jackson and Brendel for the starting left guard job.
Seahawks Holding Starting C, RG Battles; Grey Zabel A ‘Sure Thing’ At LG
Injuries forced the Seahawks to rotate through several different offensive line groupings in 2024. By the end of the season, they had surrendered the third-most sacks in the NFL while generating the fifth-fewest rushing yards.
Seattle will be hoping for a healthier, more consistent season from the unit in 2025, starting with stability at offensive tackle. Charles Cross is entering his fourth season as the team’s starting left tackle while Abraham Lucas seems to have put his knee issues behind him on the right side.
First-round pick Grey Zabel “appears a sure thing” at left guard, according to Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times. He took all the first-team reps next to Cross during spring practices, per ESPN’s Brady Henderson.
Selecting the North Dakota State standout with the 18th overall selection in April’s draft was a clear sign that the Seahawks envisioned him starting as a rookie. The only question was where after Zabel primarily lined up at offensive tackle in college with some time at guard and Senior Bowl reps at center. He has landed at left guard in Seattle with minimal competition for the starting gig, as 2024 sixth-rounder Sataoa Laumea has been working with the second-team.
The Seahawks’ starters at center and right guard remain up in the air. In spring practices, Olusegun Oluwatimi split first-team center reps with Jake Sundell, though the former should have a leg up on the latter. In 2024, Oluwatimi started Seattle’s last eight games at center, while Sundell only played 57 offensive snaps all year as an undrafted rookie.
New offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak called the right guard battle “wide open” (via team reporter John Boyle). First-team action in the spring was split between last year’s Week 1 starter Anthony Bradford and 2024 third-rounder Christian Haynes. However, head coach Mike Macdonald indicated that Sundell and Laumea could factor into the right guard competition depending on how other spots shake out.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a two-man race right now,” said Macdonald (via Condotta). “It’s more open.”
As always, OTAs and mandatory minicamp offer a strong idea of what a team is planning for the season, but as Macdonald noted, the real test will be when pads come on during training camp. That will give the several players competing for the center and right guard jobs a chance to separate themselves as starters heading into the season.
Minor NFL Transactions: 6/26/25
Here are today’s minor moves from around the league:
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: K Andre Szmyt
New England Patriots
- Released: DT Wilfried Pene
Szmyt signed with the Bears as an undrafted rookie in 2023, but did not make the 53-man roster. In 2024, he played for the UFL’s St. Louis Battlehawks, converting 19 of his 21 field goal attempts with a long of 61 yards. Szmyt then joined the Browns’ practice squad at the end of the 2024 season and signed a reserve/futures contracts for 2025. He was waived in early June to make room for wide receiver Jaelen Gill and now finds himself back on the roster after the team’s release of Ogbo Okoronkwo.
NFL No Longer Distributing Non-Player Salary Data To Teams
The NFL will no longer share non-player salary data with teams, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.
In past years, the league shared the high, low, median, and average salary for “every job in every NFL team,” per Florio. The decision to end that practice comes on the heels of the collusion arbitration ruling regarding guaranteed money in player contracts and appears to be an effort by the league to avoid future collusion accusations by non-players.
Indeed, as Florio reports, “the official position is that the information is no longer being provided for legal reasons.” Non-player employees could argue that it limits their ability to push for higher salaries at their current or other teams contrary to existing antitrust law.
Florio claims that the practice is “per se coordination/collusion,” arguing that the NFL is implicitly encouraging teams to adhere to league-wide standards instead of offering higher salaries to attract talent in a competitive labor market. Eliminating the information-sharing can protect the league from future legal action by non-player employees, though the same policy in past years may still leave them exposed.
Non-player salaries are not officially released by teams, and even finding reliable data on more prominent staff like general managers, head coaches, and coordinators can be difficult.
Cole Strange Leading Patriots’ LG Battle
The Patriots’ 2025 offensive line is largely set with Will Campbell at left tackle, Garrett Bradbury at center, Michael Onwenu at right guard, and Morgan Moses at right tackle.
The only spot without a clear starter is left guard, where Cole Strange “appears to be the front-runner” coming out of spring practices, according to Ben Volin of The Boston Globe. The 2022 first-rounder started every game at left guard as a rookie and 10 of the team’s first 15 games in 2023 before tearing the patellar tendon in his left knee. The injury sidelined him until December 2024, when he was able to start at center for the Patriots’ last two games of the season.
With Bradbury arriving this offseason on a two-year, $9.5MM contract, Strange is returning to his original position where he faces plenty of competition. Sidy Sow, Layden Robinson, and Tyrese Robinson all took first-team reps this spring, per Volin, suggesting that the battle for the starting job will continue well into training camp.
Sow, a 2023 fourth-round pick, started 13 games at right guard as a rookie and profiles as the biggest threat to Strange. Sow was set to start at left guard in 2024 before a preseason ankle injury sidelined him for the first three games. He played every snap at left guard in Week 4, but did not start another game for the rest of the season.
Layden Robinson was drafted in the fourth round last year and closed out his rookie season with five starts at left guard. He bears no relation to Tyrese Robinson, a 2022 undrafted free agent who made his NFL debut in 2024 with Week 18 action for the Patriots at right guard.
Patriots third-round rookie Jared Wilson was described as a “wild card” by Volin, but he rarely lined up at guard in college and missed spring practices with an injury. That will severely lessen the former Bulldog’s chances of winning a starting job as a rookie; overall, Wilson seems more likely to take over from Bradbury at center in 2026 or 2027.
Players Exploring Legal Options After Collusion Ruling
Multiple NFL players are exploring their legal options after the revelation of a 61-page arbitration ruling in the NFLPA’s collusion grievance against the league regarding fully-guaranteed contracts, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
Players could pursue action against the league (based on the collusive behavior described in the ruling) or the players’ union (based on their representation in the grievance). One of Florio’s sources specifically named Justin Herbert as an ideal potential plaintiff after the ruling revealed communication between Chargers owner Dean Spanos and Cardinals owner Michael Bidwell regarding fully guaranteed quarterback contracts.
The ruling first became public on Tuesday, more than five months after it was issued by league system arbitrator Christopher Droney. Still hidden, per Florio, is a list of 594 additional players who were included in the grievance behind Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson, and Russell Wilson. Both the timeframe and the scope of the ruling will play a fundamental role in the future of any new cases.
For Murray, Jackson, and Wilson, the case is decided. The NFL would likely argue the same is true for the other 594 players listed in the grievance, though the discovery process only covered the three quarterbacks. That could give credibility to an argument against the union that they did not properly represent all of the players who were party to the grievance.
The players not listed in the grievance could also have trouble launching cases of their own due to the 50-day window in the league’s collective bargaining agreement, according to Florio. That window has expired due to the apparent decision by the NFL and the NFLPA to keep the ruling out of the public eye when it was issued.
Clearly, this is a developing issue with unknown ramifications, but there is clearly potential for further action by players against collusive behavior within the league.
Lamar Jackson Sought Fully Guaranteed Contract From Ravens
The bombshell arbitration ruling in the NFLPA’s collusion grievance against the NFL regarding fully guaranteed contracts has revealed additional details regarding Lamar Jackson‘s previous negotiations with the Ravens.
Jackson “asked for a fully guaranteed contract” as far back as the 2022 offseason, according to the ruling, though it did not specify if his demand came before or after Deshaun Watson‘s deal with the Browns. Then-NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith also advised Jackson to stick to that demand.
[RELATED: Russell Wilson Asked Broncos For Fully Guaranteed Deal In 2022]
Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta testified at the arbitration hearing that he is not opposed to all fully guaranteed contracts, just longer ones with guarantees “pushed out to later years,” due to the risk of injury. As a result, the Ravens extended multiple non-fully guaranteed offers in 2022, but Jackson declined — after having set a pre-Week 1 negotiating deadline — and elected to play on his fifth-year option.
Negotiations resumed the next offseason, but the two sides quickly found themselves at the same impasse. Jackson once again requested a fully guaranteed deal, but missing the end of a second straight season due to injury did not help his case. The Ravens offered “two different three-year contracts that Mr. DeCosta considered to be fully guaranteed,” but Jackson again turned them down and requested a trade. Baltimore then applied the non-exclusive franchise tag to allow Jackson to negotiate a new contract with other teams.
It seemed at the time that Jackson had little chance of leaving Baltimore, and the arbitration ruling arrived at the same conclusion. DeCosta received little trade interest before using the franchise tag, and no teams reached out to Jackson when he was available to negotiate after the tag was applied. The ruling also determined that Jackson “was not actually committed to playing elsewhere” after declining to provide DeCosta with a list of preferred teams after publicly requesting a trade.
The ruling confirmed the previously assumed reasons that other teams did not try to acquire Jackson. DeCosta and Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti testified that the league’s apparent lack of interest in an MVP quarterback was due to the investment his acquisition would require in terms of cash, cap space, and draft picks. The Ravens could also match any offers Jackson received, risking other teams’ relationships with their quarterbacks should they publicly pursue another player and fail. Falcons owner Arthur Blank, whose team publicly announced its disinterest in acquiring Jackson, echoed concerns about cap flexibility and noted Jackson’s injury history as another factor.
Eventually, Jackson agreed to a five-year, $260MM extension shortly before the 2023 NFL Draft, making him the highest-paid quarterback in the league at signing. Interestingly, DeCosta had been preparing for a future without his star quarterback and said that he was surprised when Jackson accepted the offer.
Teams seem to have won the initial battle against fully guaranteed contracts, but Jackson has resumed negotiations with the Ravens ahead of massive scheduled cap hits in 2026 and 2027. After winning his second MVP in 2023 (and nearly a third in 2024), Jackson could renew his push for a fully guaranteed contract, though the team will likely resist such a deal and extend negotiations into 2026.
Commanders See Josh Conerly As Future LT
Commanders first-round pick Josh Conerly primarily lined up at right tackle during spring practices, according to ESPN’s John Keim, but the team believes he could take over at left tackle in the long term.
Right now, that spot is filled by Laremy Tunsil, who arrived in Washington via trade this offseason. He still has two years left on his contract, but no money past 2025 is guaranteed, per OverTheCap. Since the Texans already absorbed the dead money from Tunsil’s signing bonus, 2026 is essentially a $21.35MM team option for the Commanders.
That is still a good price for a top left tackle, and it is unlikely that the Commanders moved two Day 2 draft picks for just one year of Tunsil on the blind side. However, Tunsil has a reputation as a shrewd negotiator and could ask for as much as $30MM on his next contract. If the Commanders balk at that price tag, they could let Tunsil walk in free agency in 2027 with Conerly already in place as their succession plan.
All 28 of Conerly’s college starts at Oregon came at left tackle, so he should be well-prepared for similar duties in the NFL. He has largely played with the second team thus far, per Keim, indicating that veteran Andrew Wylie is likely to retain his starting job. However, Wylie accepted a pay cut this offseason entering the last year of his contract, indicating that the Commanders plan to move on after this season. Conerly could then step in at right tackle in 2026 before flipping back to his natural position in 2027 if the team parts ways with Tunsil.
Tunsil, for his part, is impressed with his rookie teammate, who showcased his movement skills during padless spring practices.
“He’s going to be a dog,” said Tunsil (via Keim). “Just the way he moves, the way he bends, athletic, smart, very intelligent. He has all the tools to be a damn good player in this league.”
Colts’ Anthony Richardson Expects To Return By Training Camp
Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson is expecting to recover from a shoulder injury suffered during OTAs in time for training camp in July, per CBS Sports’ Zach Goodall.
Richardson said that he is “all good” and downplayed his recent injury as “not really even a bump in the road. However, it is a worrying sign for a former top-five pick who only played 15 games in his first two seasons. Richardson was already considered a raw prospect coming out of college, and his struggles to stay on the field have stunted his development in the pros.
Even when Richardson has been healthy, he has not been a starting-caliber quarterback. In 2024, he completed less than 50% of his passes and threw more interceptions (12) than touchdowns (eight). That caused the Colts to bring in Daniel Jones for $14MM this offseason as legitimate competition for the starting quarterback job.
Missing minicamp may not have put Richardson behind Jones, who had to learn a new offense, but an extended absence could put him at a disadvantage against the former Giant. Jones may have lost his starting job in New York, but he has still performed better than his new teammate in the last two years.
Richardson is determined, however, to not let his latest setback sideline him for training camp.
“I feel like I tripped, I fell,” continued Richardson (via Goodall). “Just got back up and hit the ground running again.”
OL Jesse Davis Announces Retirement
Former Dolphins offensive lineman Jesse Davis announced his retirement from the NFL in an Instagram post (via Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams).
Davis put together an impressive career for an undrafted player, appearing in 95 games with 72 starts across his seven NFL seasons. He logged multiple starts at every offensive line position except center in his career, though he primarily lined up at right guard and right tackle in Miami. That versatility allowed the Dolphins to move him around their offensive line as needed to weather injuries.
Davis played college football at the University of Idaho and was not selected in the 2015 NFL Draft. He did not make a regular-season roster until he signed with the Dolphins and emerged as a starter in 2017. He played a rotational role at the beginning of the season before taking over a starting job – first at left guard, then at right tackle – before settling in at right guard for the last six games of the season, per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
Davis retained his starting gig into 2018 and started the entire season at left guard, earning a three-year, $15MM extension in September 2019. He started at both left and right tackle over the next two years before returning to right guard to finish the 2020 season. Davis moved around once again in 2021, starting 14 games at right tackle and two at left guard.
The Dolphins released Davis after the 2021 season, and he didn’t play another regular-season snap on offense for the rest of his career. He appeared in 14 games for the Steelers in 2022 and one for the 49ers in 2023 but only saw the field for special teams work. Davis retires with career earnings of $16.4MM, per OverTheCap.